Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 551: Spain Wins the Title, and a Chinese Super League Club Makes a Huge Offer for Lin Quan?

"The match has ended! With two goals from Lin Quan, Spain defeated Portugal 2-0 to win the European Championship again, making them the first team in history to win three consecutive titles in the tournament!"

Lin Quan's goal at the end of the match completely crushed Portugal's morale. Even though the referee added seven minutes of injury time, Portugal couldn't mount any effective attacks. In the final moments, Spain had total control of the game. Morata even had one last unlucky chance during injury time when his shot was denied by the post, preventing him from scoring in a European Championship final.

Even so, as one of Spain's key players in this tournament, winning the championship alongside his teammates was an incredible moment for Morata.

When the final whistle blew, the Spanish players erupted in wild celebrations on the field. Lin Quan, the hero who led the team to victory, was hoisted high into the air by his ecstatic teammates.

Veteran coach Vicente del Bosque wasn't spared either. The players lifted him and tossed him in the air a few times, although they were mindful of his age and let him off after a bit of fun.

Lin Quan had barely escaped from his teammates' celebrations when a large group of enthusiastic Spanish fans stormed the field, surrounding him in a frenzy. They showed no mercy, immediately tearing at his jersey, shoes, shin guards, and even his shorts and socks, leaving him with almost nothing. Thankfully, they had the decency to leave him with his underwear, or he might have had to run naked in front of fans around the world.

Frightened by the fans' craziness, Lin Quan made a quick escape from the field, sprinting all the way back to the locker room before he could breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was crazy! They were like bandits!" Lin thought.

Lin Quan wasn't the only one swarmed by fans—other veteran players like Ramos, Casillas, and David Silva faced the same fate. Even Morata couldn't escape!

Seeing his teammates hastily covering themselves, looking completely disheveled and shaken, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

They had definitely been through one wild experience. No doubt, the cameras had captured their embarrassing moments of being stripped by fans, and by now, the images were probably circulating all over the world.

After winning the championship, Spain didn't linger in Paris for long. After resting for one night, they took a flight back to Spain the next morning.

When the plane landed at Madrid airport, the entire place erupted in excitement. Fans from all over the country flooded the airport, completely filling the terminal, and the sheer number of people caused traffic jams even outside the airport.

All these fans had come to welcome their heroes and witness the historic achievement of winning three consecutive European Championships.

Before 2008, Spain was in the same group as countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, and the Czech Republic, with only one European Championship trophy. They ranked behind football powerhouses like Germany, France, and Italy in terms of titles.

But after winning three consecutive European titles, they surged to the top of the list, surpassing Germany's three titles and becoming the team with the most European Championship wins in history.

From 2008 to 2016, Spain emerged as Europe's dominant force, consistently achieving excellent and stable results, cementing their status as the top football nation in Europe. This golden era was a source of immense pride and joy for every Spanish fan.

After the celebrations and festivities, the Spanish national team disbanded, and the players were finally able to rest and enjoy their well-deserved vacation.

Meanwhile, the European football transfer market heated up, with numerous shocking transfer rumors making headlines.

One news item that particularly caught people's attention was about a wealthy football club from China, which paid €56 million to sign Zenit Saint Petersburg's star forward Hulk. While Hulk was a Brazilian international, he wasn't particularly well-known in European football. After all, the Russian Premier League was considered second or even third-tier in Europe, lacking the recognition of the top five leagues or even the Eredivisie and Primeira Liga.

Still, this relatively obscure player was sold for such a high price, leaving Europe once again stunned by the Chinese Super League's incredible financial power.

Earlier in the year, another Chinese Super League club had spent €50 million to sign Brazilian forward Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, another player with limited fame in Europe.

This left many Europeans wondering: are Chinese clubs really that wealthy? If players with less recognition could fetch such high prices, what kind of offers would they make for top-tier stars like Messi, Ronaldo, or even Lin Quan?

It turns out, Chinese clubs were indeed interested in these three players. There had been persistent rumors about Messi and Ronaldo possibly moving to the Chinese Super League, but most of these reports were speculative and lacked credibility.

However, this summer, a report surfaced claiming that a wealthy Chinese club was ready to offer a staggering €3.5 billion to bring Manchester City's star player, Lin Quan, to the Chinese Super League.

Unlike previous rumors, this report seemed to have more detail and plausibility. After all, Lin Quan was of Chinese descent, spoke Mandarin, and would have an easier time adjusting to the culture and environment. He was not only young and highly skilled, but also extremely popular among Chinese fans, making him a more marketable asset than Messi or Ronaldo.

The news caused a frenzy among European and Chinese fans alike.

"Wow! If they can actually bring Lin Quan back, I'll definitely buy tickets for every match!" one fan exclaimed.

"We need someone like Lin Quan to raise the level of our players! Playing with low-level teammates all the time won't help anyone improve," another fan added.

"Lin's only 20 years old, and he's got at least another 10 or more years of his prime left. If we could get him into our national team, we might even have a shot at qualifying for another World Cup!" someone else chimed in optimistically.

"Forget it! According to FIFA rules, players who have played for one national team can't represent another country's national team," one fan quickly corrected.

"What a shame! If only we had discovered Lin Quan earlier and gotten him into our national team..." another lamented.

While fans debated the possibility, Lin Quan himself was completely unaware of the rumors. In reality, the report was mostly just hype. A price tag of €3.5 billion was absurd, and even the wealthiest clubs wouldn't throw money around like that.

Lin Quan's focus was on something else entirely—the other major transfers happening in European football.

On July 12, the day after Spain's European Championship victory, Real Madrid announced they had activated a buy-back clause to bring back their former youth player, Alvaro Morata, from Juventus.

Morata had grown up in Real Madrid's youth system and had always dreamed of returning to the club. When Real Madrid called, Morata didn't hesitate to accept the offer. Juventus, on the other hand, was frustrated but powerless to stop the move, as the contract they had signed with Real Madrid included a buy-back clause, even specifying the price.

Real Madrid only had to pay €30 million to bring Morata back, a steal considering his impressive performance in the European Championship. Experts valued him at around €55-65 million, meaning Real Madrid saved about €30 million with this transfer.

Juventus, left with no choice, now had to search the transfer market for a replacement. Their eyes landed on Napoli's star striker, Gonzalo Higuain.

The 29-year-old Argentine was in the prime of his career and had scored an astounding 36 goals in the 2015-2016 Serie A season, not only winning the Golden Boot but also breaking a 66-year-old record for most goals scored in a single Serie A season. Even more impressive, Higuain had achieved this feat in just 35 matches, averaging over a goal per game.

Given Higuain's proven success in Serie A, Juventus wasn't surprised to target him as a replacement for Morata. After winning five consecutive Serie A titles, Juventus had set their sights on the Champions League, and signing Higuain seemed like the right move.

Higuain was clearly a better player than Morata at this point, so Juventus made a bold offer of €80 million to Napoli. When Napoli had signed Higuain from Real Madrid three years ago, they had only paid €37 million. Now, his value had more than doubled in just a few years!

If Napoli accepted Juventus' offer, they could not only pocket a huge profit but also claim they had gotten three years of service from one of the best strikers in the world for free. No wonder so many clubs liked to sell players for a profit—there was big money in it.

But despite the generous offer, Napoli rejected it. Everyone knew Juventus needed a top striker, so Napoli wasn't going to let them off easily. Plus, Juventus was their biggest rival in Serie A, and selling their top goal-scorer to a competitor felt like giving away their best weapon.

Still, Juventus was persistent. When €80 million wasn't enough, they upped the offer by €5 million, bringing the total to €85 million. This was the same amount Barcelona had paid Liverpool for Luis Suarez a few years ago.

Although Higuain was an incredible player, he wasn't quite on Suarez's level. Napoli hesitated for several days before ultimately rejecting the offer again, though this time less firmly.

Realizing Napoli's stance, Juventus increased their offer to €90 million. This was their final offer—Higuain was a great player, but €90 million was a lot of money. If Napoli didn't accept, Juventus would turn their attention to Romelu Lukaku, who was available from Everton at a lower price.

This summer's transfer market was in full swing as clubs across Europe scrambled to strengthen their squads. And in the midst of it all, one thing was clear: football had entered a new era where prices for players had skyrocketed to unimaginable levels.

(End of Chapter)

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